On his final leave home from the Navy, Whit Moore with his mother and
father, Margaret and Lloyd Moore, and close friends on the day he left
Wilmington for Vietnam.
31
He continued despite heavy mor-tars,
saving the lives of three
Marines. As he was trying to
reach a fourth wounded Marine,
an incoming mortar took his life.”
Moore immediately settled into his medi-cal
duties at the besieged base — duties that
included daily patrols outside the Khe Sanh
perimeter into enemy-held territory. In the
early morning hours of February 25, Moore
was one of 41 men in patrol squads who
took intense enemy fire. An excerpt from
the battle report states: “When 2nd Squad
of B-l became pinned down, HN MOORE
fearlessly moved through the heavy barrage
to provide aid to the seriously wounded. He
continued despite heavy mortars, saving the
lives of three Marines. As he was trying to
reach a fourth wounded Marine, an incoming
mortar took his life.”
Of the 41 men on that mission in that one
day at Khe Sanh, 31 perished. For his actions
in Khe Sanh, Moore was posthumously
awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V to
denote heroism — the fourth-highest military
decoration for valor.
There are 690 Navy Hospital Corpsmen
on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in
Washington, D.C. Lloyd Whitfield Moore
appears on Panel 41E, Line 25. He was 21
and had been in Vietnam 42 days. Whit
Moore and his brother corpsmen saved count-less
lives on the battlefields of Vietnam. To
the grim and harrowing corridors of war,
through extraordinary courage and total faith
in one another, they gave the gift of life.
Writer Robert Rehder is a Navy veteran
who served during the Vietnam War. His
father was a WWII Merchant Marine deck
officer who sailed in three war theaters.
His grandfather, enlisting at age 44, was
a WWII Army finance officer who served
in France. His brother was an Army 82nd
Airborne artillery lieutenant in Vietnam.
The Rehders have two sons who are both
United States Marines.
PHOTOS COURTESY MARGARET MOORE SPALLEK
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM